03 February 2011

banana buttermilk pancakes with caramelize cinnamon walnuts

I posted about banana pancakes a long time ago but didn't include the recipe. Thanks to a recent reader request I'm finally blogging about the them again, this time with the recipe.

My mom created this recipe ages ago when she decided she didn't like traditional recipes. What makes these unique to your standard buttermilk pancake is that the fat isn't melted and mixed in with the wet ingredients, it's cut into the dry ingredients like you would for biscuits. This isn't to make flaky pancakes since the fat to four ratio isn't high enough, and because there's a higher liquid ratio, it's to create a fluffy and high rising pancake.

We kept making alterations to the master recipe until we got it how we wanted. With a bit of sugar, a combination of baking powder and baking soda, shortening, buttermilk and an egg, you'll have everything on hand to whip these up for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

The rules for pancakes are the same for any other quick bread in that you don't want to over mix the batter after you've added the liquids to the dry. The batter should be mostly mixed with possibly a few streaks of flour, but lumps will always remain. Don't worry about it. If you mix to the point of a completely smooth consistency you'll over work the dough, over develop the gluten, and the texture will be wrong.

After mixing the batter up, let it rest for 10-15 minutes.

I enhanced the recipe a little by adding caramelized cinnamon walnuts. It doesn't take very long to make and adds a great taste and crunch to the pancakes. Toast walnuts for 5-7 minutes in a skillet then add butter. When it's melted, sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top and cook for another minute. Turn out onto a sheet of wax paper to cool and harden before coarsely chopping and adding to the flour mixture.

Each pancake is topped with five thinly sliced banana slices. alternatively, you can slice two bananas into small chunks and stir into the batter. They might turn brown, so add a teaspoon of lemon juice to the liquids if you do this.

The saying goes that the first pancake is always trashed. Well, it's a lie. If you properly heat the skillet up and spray with a light mist of cooking spray, you won't find yourself tossing the pancake out.

I don't often pay attention to cooking time with pancakes because they kind of show you when they're ready to flip. As you can see in the top right picture, the surface is beginning to erupt with bubbles and the edges are still raw. This is when you want to flip it. If the surface of the pancake looks dry, it won't rise as high after the flip.

In a skillet over medium heat, toast walnuts until beginning to turn golden brown, about 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add butter to skillet and toss with walnuts until melted. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon; continue to stir with a spatula, coating walnuts, for 1 minute. Remove onto a sheet of wax paper. When cool, coarsely chop.

Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Cut in shortening until flour resembles wet sand. Stir in chopped walnuts. In a small bowl, combine buttermilk, milk, and egg. Pour into bowl with flour and stir just until combined. Let rest for 10-15 minutes.

Heat 2 skillets on medium. Spray surface lightly with cooking spray. Using a ladle, scoop no more than 1/2 cup batter per pancake onto center of skillet, spreading a little to create an even pancake. Top with 5 slices of banana. Cook for 1-2 minutes or until bubbles appear on surface (some will burst). Using a thin spatula, carefully flip pancakes and continue cooking for another minute. Place on plate, banana side up. Continue cooking pancakes in this manner.

Serve with butter and syrup. Batter can be refrigerated for up to 4 days in a covered container.